Stuff You Should Know Selects: The Disappearance of Lars Mittank
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Mar 28, 2026 A vacation in Bulgaria spirals into a chilling disappearance after a bar dispute, an ear injury, and a missed flight. Strange texts, a tense night in a sketchy hotel, and a baffling airport dash deepen the mystery. Conflicting accounts, dead-end searches, and unsettling theories keep the case hauntingly unresolved.
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The Bulgaria Trip Began As A Normal Party Vacation
- The vacation started as a normal youth-party trip in Golden Sands, with beach time, soccer, bars, and all-inclusive resort excess.
- Lars stood out only because friends said he mostly ate soup, salad, and fruit while they feasted, a detail internet sleuths later overinterpreted.
The Bar Rivalry Turned Into A Claimed Assault
- After a World Cup watch party, Lars disappeared near a McDonald's and later returned saying several Bulgarian men had jumped him and hit his ear.
- He believed rival Bayern fans from the bar had paid locals to attack him, though his friends doubted the story because he showed little visible damage.
The Ear Injury Does Not Fully Explain His Panic
- Lars’s ruptured eardrum and antibiotic became central clues, but neither cleanly explains his later panic.
- Josh Clark notes NHS guidance says a perforated eardrum can actually make flying more comfortable, undercutting the idea that skipping the flight was medically necessary.
